Chapter 3

Barron's POV

“Hello. I suppose this makes us officially married.”

Those were the first few words I shared with my new wife. Someone I hadn't seen or even know.

It wasn't long before her reply came back. “I suppose it does.”

And with that, I was left asking myself what I had just done.

I rarely let emotions dictate my decisions.

In my world, emotion was noise, something that clouded judgment and led to very bad investments. 

I built my company on logic, discipline, and control with every move being well calculated and every risk measured.

And that was exactly why agreeing to marry a woman I’d never met should have bothered me more than it did.

I wasn't able to get a hold of my thoughts before the car slowed down to a stop.

I looked out through the window and realized that we had already made it to the front of my front porch.

I flicked off my phone and took a deep breath before stepping out like nothing ever happened.

I made the short trek over to the front door where the stewards were already waiting for me at the door.

“Welcome, Mr. Barron,” the young man greeted.

“Welcome, Mr. Barron,” the lady concurred.

I nodded in agreement to their greetings. I do prefer to be referred to by my name, simply cause of my fragmented relationship with my dad.

I handed over my suitcase to the young man and stepped past both of them.

“Have my dinner set on the dining table,” I announced to the young lady, turning her way.

She nodded with a low blow of her head and hurried off.

“Is Nana home?” I asked, turning to the young man this time.

“Not yet, sir,” he replied.

Of course.

I nodded and walked off, heading straight to my room.

I took a quick shower and laid in bed while checking on a few documents.

I didn't realize how long I had been there till the room grew pitch dark.

I slowly got up and made my way to the living room. I spotted my grandma watching TV and I passed by without saying a word.

I stepped into the dining room to have my meal quietly. I wasn't in the mood to talk about the whole marriage stuff.

“You’re unusually quiet,” my grandmother finally said.

I glanced at her from across the dining table. 

She was sitting with the same calm authority she’d carried my entire life as though she hadn’t just proposed the most absurd idea I’d heard in years.

“I’m processing,” I replied.

She smiled faintly. “You always say that when you’ve already decided,” she countered.

I didn’t deny it. “You want me to marry a stranger,” I said evenly. “Without meeting her. Without knowing her name.”

“Yes,” she replied without missing a beat.

“For a reason you still haven’t fully explained,” I shot back calmly.

She met my gaze with a soft look in her eyes. “I have explained. You just don’t like the simplicity of it,” she replied.

I leaned back in my chair. “Go over it again,” I said.

She nodded slowly. “She needs help,” Helen said. “And you are in a position to give it,” she offered.

That wasn’t enough. It never can be. “You didn’t raise me to make decisions based on sympathy,” I countered again.

“Yes, but I raised you to recognize when something is right,” she corrected. “This is one of those times.”

I studied her in silence. If this had come from anyone else, I would have shut it down immediately. 

Probably fired them even if it were business.

But Helen wasn’t just anyone.

She was the woman who’d raised me when my parents were too busy chasing power. 

The woman who’d taught me integrity mattered more than profit. The only person in the world whose judgment I trusted without question.

“Why now?” I asked.

“Because she’s running out of time,” Helen said gently. “And because you need this as much as she does.”

I frowned. “I don’t need a wife,” I argued.

“No,” she agreed. “But you need a different perspective.”

I exhaled slowly, flexing my jaw. “And what are the terms?” I asked.

The corner of her lips tugged into a smile. “It will be a legal marriage only. No obligations beyond that.”

“No cohabitation?” I asked.

“No.”

“No intimacy?” I asked again.

And she raised a brow. “Unless you choose otherwise,” she teased.

I ignored that. “And our identities?”

“Will remain hidden till further notice. No names, just nicknames. Clean and simple,” she replied.

I fell silent again, my thoughts raced on despite my calm look.

This went against every instinct I had. And yet… something about it felt strangely inevitable.

“How long is this going to be a thing?” I asked.

“As long as necessary,” Nana replied. “And when it ends, it ends quietly.”

I nodded once. “Fine.”

Her smile deepened, but she didn’t celebrate. She never did. 

She knew how to arrange herself more than anyone I knew.

“You won’t regret this,” she said as she got up and handed some papers over to me.

“She has already signed before a judge, I stand as witness to your agreement,” she explained as she placed the papers before me. “Take your time and read through.”

I shook my head and picked up the pen, signing the proposed spots and making everything legal.

Nana smiled as she took the papers from me. “I'll keep this then,” she announced.

“We don't get a copy of the agreement?” I asked.

“I'm the only copy you need,” she replied with a small smile. 

When she probably noticed the skeptical look on my face, she added. “Don't worry, Barron. You won't regret this, trust me.”

I shook my head. “I don’t regret decisions,” I replied. “I adapt to them.”

Helena's POV 

I returned home just a few minutes after 7 with a piece of paper carefully folded in my hand.

It was the only document Nana Helen gave to me. She told me it was proof of my new status as a married woman and was the only document I needed at the moment.

I knew I had to keep it from grandpa as he would go crazy if he saw it. 

I slowly closed the door behind me and tiptoed my way into the living room. 

Just at the center of the cushion from behind it, the lights flicked on to reveal grandpa sitting on the cushion opposite where I was.

Dang it.

“And where are you coming from, young woman?”